Terminal block connector



20,1970 c. A. COWSERT 3,535,677

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TERMINAL BLOCK CONNECTOR Original Filed Aug. 11, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR CHARLES A, COWSERT 42W, QW Mt BY MM 4;

ATTORNEYS 21s \294b 2921 296a C- A. COWSERT TERMINAL BLOCK CONNECTOR 270 (BIO 29Gb ooooqpp o o o o o H Nl/IT 204 so 220 v Oct. 20, 1970 Original Filed Aug. 11. 1965 0 -las mvmox CHARLES A. GOWSERT BY 4M ATTORNEYS 1970 c. A. cowssm' 3,535,677

TERMINAL'BLOCK CONNECTOR Original PM Aug. 11. 1965 e shee s-slim 5 264 TIMER mvmon amass A. calm-0r BY &

ATTORNEYS Oct. 20, 1970 c. A. cowssn'r 7 TERMINAL BLOCK CONNECTOR Original Filed Aug. 11. 1965 v 6 Sheets-Sht 6 c? Ci 2704? mvmon CHARLES A. COWSERT ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent US. Cl. 339-198 11 Claims ABSTRACT on THE DISCLOSURE -A connector for bridging electrical terminals that are formed with a lug to facilitate the crimping of the conductors on the connector. The metal crimping machine is capable of forming a serpentine bend in each of the connector conductors in one cyclic operation. One of the conductors may include a unidirectionally conductive means, such as a diode, embedded in the connector.

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Ser. No. 653,425, filed July 14, 1967 (and now abandoned) which is a division of my application Ser. No. 478,880, filed Aug. 11, 1965, now Pat. No. 3,344,499.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a connector article adapted to be made by a machine for crimping the terminal end portions of conductors on a base member. The terminal bridging connector unit has integrally formed and accurately spaced and shaped C-shaped clips with reflexted entry portions formed on the ends of bridging conductors and are rigidly mounted in a dielectric base.

The improved shape of the article made by this machine and resulting from this present invention, constitutes an inventive improvement over previously known bridging connectors with conductor clips, such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,181,109 and 3,188,603 to Paul Snider. Those previously known connectors in the past have been made by hand and it was diflicult to form a serpentine bend in the protruding end portions of the bridging connectors to form U-shaped electrical clips all facing in the same direction for enabling placement of the bridging connector on a terminal block. The clips had to be accurately formed to embrace the bridged terminals with pressure and contact surfaces on both sides of the terminal in addition to the fact that the bight of each clip'had to be accurately located relative to the other clips to assure placement of the bridging connector in accurate engagement with all desired bridged terminals. The previously known handmade connectors required multiple handling .of the workpiece with many rejects, resulting in an extremely high cost per unit item.

The major object of this invention resides in the provision of a connector having a semi-rigid dielectric base member and at least one conductor, part of which is secured and embedded inside the base member and a terminal end portion of which projects from a flat side of the base member and is crimped into a 'C-shaped conductor end clip closely adjacent the flat side of the base member, the terminal end portion, as it projects from the base member, immediately passing first through an abrupt curved bend toward the base member, then, by means of a reverse reflex bend, forming the bight of the clip and thence reversing its shape through a still further reflex bend, together with a small backup protuberance integral 3,535,677 Patented Get. 20, 1970 which occurs at the location where the clip material projects from the base member material For some applications, a unidirectionally conductive path is required in the electrical circuit formed by bridging two electrical terminals with a terminal block connector. Since it may be impractical to include a unidirectionally conductive means in the circuits of the electrical terminals and since it may be desirable to maintain the flexibility of whether or not a unidirectional conductive means is to be included between the terminals, it is desirable to provide the bridging connector with the unidirectionally conductive means.

Therefore, another object of this invention resides in the provisions of an improved terminal block bridging connector having at least one conductor which is unidirectionally conductive. Still another object of this invention resides in the provision of a connector having a semi-rigid dielectric base member, at least two C-Shaped conductor end clips projecting from the base member and a unidirectionally conductive means embedded inside the base member and mechanically and electrically connected to embedded end portions of the clips.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further novel features and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, discussion and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing a preferred structure and embodiment, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating one embodiment of a crimping machine in accord with the present invention, the machine being mounted on a work table in the position in which it is most conveniently used;

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are enlarged perspective views showing various stages in the shapes of the machine-made and improved connector workpiece of this invention, FIG. 2 illustrating a preconstructed bridging connector, prior to being placed in the machine, having three bridging conductors with their six terminal end portions extending perpendicular from the dielectric base. FIG. 3 showing an intermediate stage in the shaping of the crimped terminal ends of the conductors which occurs approximately two-thirds of the way through the crimping machine forming cycle, and FIG. 4 illustrates the connector end product in place on six terminals of a terminal block after the crimping operation is complete. (The connector shapes in these three figures can be correlated approximately with FIGS. l0, l1 and 12);

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a second embodiment of the crimping machine of the present invention and shows the two rams, their associated pneumatic motors, and the three relatively shiftable tool parts;

FIG. 6 is a section view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5 and shows the machine inclined in the manner in which it will be mounted on an assembly table;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detail perspective View illus trating the multiple tooth tool part which, in the machine assembly, is secured to one of the pneumatically operated rams seen in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged detail perspective to substantially the same scale as FIG. 7, showing a fixed tool part which includes a plurality of studs and which, in assembly, is removably inserted from the underside into the bed of the machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective, again to substantially the same scale as FIG. 7, illustrating a workpiece and a jig which in fact is a third tool assembly inserted and removed from the second ram member seen in FIG. 5. The jig is adapted to receive a preconstructed connector workpiece, the jig and portions of the retained workpiece constituting, in combination, the third tool assembly.

FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 are enlarged plan view of the central portion of FIG. 5 to depict, respectively, stages during the crimping cycle. In FIG. 10, the start position of the rams is shown with a preformed connector workpiece, such as in FIG. 2, disposed in its jig and with the jig and workpiece placed in initial position; FIG. 11 shows the disposition of the two rams after they have progressed through approximately two-thirds of the crimping stroke and have accomplished an intermediate or partial crimping of the terminal ends of the-conductors to a shape such as shown in FIG. 3; FIG. 12 shows the completion of the strokes of both rams to complete the final crimping with reflex bends adjacent the terminal ends of the conductors, and showing the shapes of the crimped connectors prior to retraction of the rams which will permit the connectors to expand slightly under inherent springiness to the shape seen in FIG. 4' and thereby enable removal of the connector from the machine; and FIG. 13 illustrates a simple basic pneumatic actuating and control system for the machine motors;

FIGS. 14, and 16 are enlarged side, top and bottom views, respectively, of the terminal block connector of the present invention, FIGS. 14 and 15 being cut away to illustrate the interconnection of a unidirectional conductive means between two aligned end clips, and FIG. 16 illustrating the bottom encasement of the unidirectional conductive means in the dielectric base member.

Both of the illustrated machine embodiments include the same basic components, the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 constituting a refined arrangement of the machine assembly shown in FIG. 1. The specific description will be primarily directed to the embodiment of FIG. 5; however, with respect to FIG. 1, a general description of the machine follows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The crimping machine 20 of FIG. 1 is secured to the front edge of a production bench or table 22. A mounting bracket assembly 24 is bolted to the edge of the table and the base plate or bed 26 of the machine 20 in turn is rigidly secured to bracket assembly 24 in an inclined disposition, an arrangement enabling convenient insertion and removal of the workpieces. Bed 26 provides a planar upper surface and has tWo integral shelf-like extesions 28 and 30 at top and bottom edges to which are rigidly secured four pneumatic motors 32, 34, 36 and 38. All four motors are double acting piston type,- commercially available units. The reciprocable pistonrods 40, 42, 44 and 46 are clearly shown extending toward and connected to the rams of the machine.

The two slidable rams 48 and 50 are made from flat blocks of steel having lower flat faces in surface sliding engagement with the upper planar surface of bed 26. Slots 52 and 53 in upper ram 48 and slots 54 and 55 in lower ram 50 constitute tracks for guiding the reciprocating movement of the two rams. Slots 52 and 53 of the upper ram fit with a close sliding fit over two guide pins 56 and 58 secured in and projecting up from the bed 26. In a similar manner two additional guide pins 60 and 62, also secured in the bed, have a close sliding fit in guide tracks 54 and 55 of the lower ram 50. Retaining plates 64 and 66, secured by screws to support blocks and to the ends of bed 26, overlay and retain the rams on their guide pins and in sliding engagement with the upper surface of bed 26.

Fastened to the outer edge of upper ram 48 is an adapter 68 which in turn is secured by threaded studs (not shown) to the ends of piston rods 40 and 42 of the two upper motors. A similar adapter 70 is secured in like manner to the lower ram 50 and to the piston rods 44 and 46 of the two lower motors 32 and 34 imparts reciprocating motion to the upper ram 48 and reciprocation of the two lower motors 36 and 38 imparts reciprocating motion to the lower ram 50.

Upper ram 48 on its working edge face is provided with a plurality of tooth like projections 72 which constitute the actual tool portions operable by the first ram 48. The teeth can be made inegral with the ram or on a separable portion as in the second embodiment. The lower ram 50 retains, supports and shifts a workpiece held in a jig, such as seen in FIG. 9, although no jig or w0rkpiece is shown in FIG. 1. During operation, a jig and connector workpiece assembly is placed in a notched recess 74 located on the edge of ram 50 which faces the teeth of the upper ram 48. Inasmuch as the jig is a small rectangular flat block and is disposed substantially normal to the ram 50, to assure rigidity a small gusset shaped backing block 76, secured by means of screws to the upper surface of ram 50, serves as a backup abutment behind the jig. The lower ram 50, the jig and a portion of the workpiece, as will be more fully described, are in fact oneof the tool means and, in conjunction with the upper ram and its tool teeth 72, cooperate with a third workpiece located between the two rams.

The third workpiece is a subassembly consisting of a mounting block carrying a plurality of upstanding round studs 82 (made from a tough hard metal like drill rod) which project up from the plane of the bed 26 a distance at least equal to the thickness of rams 48 and 50. The relationships between studs 82 (which are miniature mandrels) and teeth 72 will be described hereinafter in conjunction with the second embodiment.

It is noted that a preconstructed workpiece, as shown in FIG. 2, is placed in a jig as shown in FIG. 9. The jig is then placed into the notch 74 and against the backing gusset 76 of the lower ram 50 with the protruding terminal strips on the workpiece passing between studs 82 and terminating in front of teeth 72 in the manner shown in FIG. 10. Subsequent energization of all four motors, 32, 34, 36 and 3 8 will cause the upper arm 48 and the lower ram '50 to be slidably shifted toward each other and at opposed angles across the face of bed 26. The teeth 72 on the upper ram force one end of all connector terminal strips toward the left and simultaneously the lower ram 50 shifts the jig and workpiece, which contains the anchored body of the strip which forms the terminals, also to the left. The studs 82 remain fixed and stationary in bed 26 and provide a fixed abutment acting against the mid points of the connector strips on the workpiece. Continued sliding movement of the rams toward each other and at an angle will bend the connector terminal strips in a C or U-shape around the studs 82 and completion of the ram movement shapes reflex bends in the terminal strip clips as will be fully explained hereinafter. All four ram motors with their two rams are then retracted, leaving the jig and the workpiece loosely hanging on the studs 82. The jig and workpiece may then be slid off the studs 82 and the workpiece removed from the jig. If necessary, the end of the connector base can be clipped to make it a finished item, or the length can be a predetermined final size before the connector piece is placed in the machine.

SECOND EMBODIMENT The second and refined embodiment of a clip crimping machine is shown in plan view in FIG. 5 and in sectioned elevation in FIG. 6. Machine 100 is constructed on a bed 102 made from a square plate of cold rolled steel, milled or otherwise shaped so that its upper surfa e PIO- vides a flat sliding bed for the two rams, later described. The plane flat bed surface 104 terminates adjacent two of the edges of the bed in upstanding shoulder portions 106, 107, 108, 109 and 110 which are shaped to accommodate assembly of ram motors 112, 114, 116 and 118. The four motors, as in the first embodiment, are double acting piston type pneumatic motors and are commercially available. They are shown somewhat schematically and in FIG. 5 do not have the pneumatic line connections shown.

The two upper motors 112 and 114 are secured in side by side parallel arrangement to a support plate 120 made of cold rolled steel and the support plate in turn is rapidly fastened to the sides of bed shoulders 106, 107 and 108 by screws 122. The two lower motors 116 and 118 are mounted on a similar support plate 124 which in turn is rigidly fastened to bed plate shoulders 108, 109 and 110 by screws.

All four motors are secured in a similar matter to their support plates respectively 120 and 124, one such means being illustrated for the motor 114. Each motor has a threaded spigot portion 126 which fits through a hole 128 in its associated support plate 120. A hexagonal nut 130 threaded on spigot portion 126 clamps the motor housing to the plate 120. Similar nuts 131, 132 and 133 secure the other three motors to their respective support plates. The housing spigot portion of motor 114 has a coaxial through bore 136 enabling passage of the reciprocable piston rod 138 disposed in a path parallel to the flat plane surface 104 of bed 102. The end of piston rod 138 is provided with a threaded blind bore 140 into which is threadedly secured a ram connecting stud 142. Piston rods 144, 146 and 148 to motors 112, 116 and 11 8 respectively are identically secured to their respective rams, and all piston rods reciprocate along axes which lie in a same plane parallel to and disposed above the plane flat face of bed 102.

The two piston rods 142 and 144 of the upper motors reciprocate in paths which are parallel to each other and in a similar manner the two piston rods 146 and 148 of the lower motors also reciprocate in paths which are parallel to each other. However, as seen in FIG. 5, the axes of piston rods 142 and 144 are disposed in paths which are perpendicular to the paths of piston rods 146 and 148. It is noted that this angle does not necessarily have to be 90, the 90 disposition being selected so that the directional components of bending forces at the beginning and the end of a crimping operation are substantially equal. As will be later apparent, the bending force at the start of the machine cycle is in a path which extends horizontally of the machine as shown in FIG. 5, whereas the bending load at the termination of operation is in a path which extends substantially normal to the initial horizontal bending force. There are several variable components of bending occurring at the termination of the work stroke of the cycle (FIG. 12).

As clearly shown in FIG. 5, the mounting nuts and pistons of the four motors, when assembled on mounting plates 120 and 124 and when the mounting plates are secured to the bed 102, will be disposed in the open spaces between adjacent ones of shoulders 106, 107, 108, 109 and 110 and the piston rods reciprocate in paths located just above the plane flat face 104 of bed 102.

Studs 142 in the rods of the two upper motors 112 and 114 secure the respective piston rods to a side edge of an upper ram 150 and in a like manner the piston rods of the two lower motors 116 and 118 are secured to a side edge of lower ram 152. While the two rams 150 and 152 are both somewhat triangular in shape they are two distinctly different components.

Considering the edge face 154 as the rear edge of upper ram 150 to which the piston rods of motors 112 and 114 are connected, the upper ram 150 has an elongated plane face 156 along one of its edges which extends perpendicularly from the rear edge 154 and a short plane face 158 which is parallel to face 156 and also extends perpendicular from the rear edge 154. The two edge faces 156 and 158 constitute guide surfaces which are parallel to the axes of piston rods 142 and 144 and cooperate with tool steel guide blocks 160 and 162 which provide guide tracks during the work cycle reciprocation of ram 150. Guide block 160 is rigidly secured along one edge of the plane face 104 of bed 102 by screws 164 and locator pins 166 so'that its tracking edge 16*8 cooperates with the elongate plane face of edge 156 of ram 150. Guide block 162 is fitted into the corner of the bed plate shoulder 108 and rigidly secured to bed plate 102 by screw 168 and locator pins 170 and provides guide tracks for both the upper and lower rams 150 and 152 by means of its perpendicular edge faces 172 and 174. The guide block edge 172 is parallel and accurately located relative to the guide track 168 of block 160 and cooperates with the short plane face of edge 158 of the upper ram 150.

The lower ram 152 is similarly secured to the two piston rods 146 and 148 of the lower motors along its base edge 176, has parallel short guide face 178 and long guide face 180. Short guide face 178 cooperates with the previously described guide track face 174 of block 162 and the long guide face 180 cooperates with the guide track 182 of another guide block 184 secured to bed 102 in a manner identical to that described for guide block 160. All blocks are made of tool steel in order to resist the wear and forces which occur during the work strokes of the rams.

When the two rams are retracted by their respective motors the limit of travel is defined by abutment of rear edge face 154 of the upper ram 150 against the faces of shoulders 106, 107 and 108 and abutment of the rear edge face of lower ram 152 against shoulders 108, 109 and 110. The work stroke limit of both rams is determined by abutment of the respective rams 150 and 152 against stop blocks 186 and 188, respectively, which are secured to the bed 102 by means of the locator pins 190 and 192 and screws 194 and 196. The edge face 198 of upper ram 150 opposite the rear edge face 154 is disposed perpendicular to the direction of travel of ram 150 and constitutes a limiting abutment on ram 150 which can engage a parallel abutment surface 200 on the stop block 186. A similar end limit abtument surface 202 on lower ram 152 will engage a stop abutment surface 204 on stop block 188 to determine the work stroke limit of the lower ram 152.

Both of the edge faces of the rams 150 and 152 which are in facing relationship are recessed and the bottoms of the two recesses provide surface which are perpendicular to the plane surface 104 of bed 102 and are also parallel to one another throughout the strokes of their respective rams. The recess 210 in upper ram 150 provides a seat to receive a tool piece 212, secured therein as by screws. The recess in lower ram 152 provides an edge surface 214 and an end shoulder 216, the recess receiving a flat workpiece jig 218 in a removable manner as will be hereinafter fully described, the jig being illustrated in FIG. 9. The flat jig plate 218 fits in the machine assembly with its planar form disposed perpendicular to the plane face 104 of machine bed 102 and results in the major extent of jig 218 projecting up above the top surface of ram 152 (see FIG. 6). Because the jig 218 is freely placed in the lower ram recess and is not rigidly secured therein, two gusset blocks 220 and 222 provide backing support for a jig located in the lower ram. The front edges of the two gusset blocks 220 and 222 are planar and disposed in the same plane as the base face 214 of the lower ram recess thus the back surface of jig 218 when placed in the lower ram recess will be firmly supported against the two gusset blocks. The gusset blocks are secured to ram 152 by screws which can be inserted from and countersunk into the underside of the lower ram.

An elongate aperture (slot) disposed laterally in the machine bed 102 approximately at its mid position enables a tool device subassembly 228 (FIG. 8) to be inserted in the machine bed 102 from the underneath side of the bed. The tool subassembly 228 will be described in detail hereinafter, suflicient at this point to note that the width of the tool assembly 228 is correlated to the width of the opening 226 to provide a smooth sliding fit as the tool subassembly is inserted into position whereas the length of the tool subassembly 228 is sufficiently shorter than the length of opening 226 to provide a slight amount of lateral adjusting movement of the tool subassembly for purposes to be described. The tool 228 is rigidly secured by means of screws 230 on the underside of bed 102.

Triangular brackets 232 and plates 233 and 234 are secured together and to the bed 102 by screw to form a mounting arrangement whereby the machine can be secured in inclined disposition on the edge of a production work bench 235.

The two rams 150 and 152 are slidable in path switch are coplanar and cross the fiat face 104 of bed 102 to converge with simultaneous movement of both rams at a 90 angle. Both rams move relative to the tool assembly 228 which is fixed in bed 102. Thus upper ram 150 moves in a path which, relative to the elongate extent of tool assembly 228 is 45 and in a similar manner the lower ram 152 also moves in a path which is 45 relative to the elongate extent of tool assembly 228.

The pneumatic actuating system provided for the four .motors 112 through 118 can be a simple basic pneumatic system such as illustrated schematically in FIG. 13. The control valve 240 can be a conventional two way spool valve spring loaded in one direction and operated in the opposite sense against the spring biasing force by a button or pedal unit 242, depending on whether the operator operates it by hand or by foot. A pressure line 244 and return line 246, in fluid comunication with a pneumatic pressure source are connected to valve 240 and thereby directed in a known manner to system main lines 248 and 250. With valve 240 in its normal spring position, main line 248 is a pneumatic exhaust line and main line 250 becomes the line subjected to pneumatic pressure. Via connections from main line 250 through appropriate branch conduits 252 and 254 the pneumatic pressure condition from line 250 is connected in parallel to the retract side of the pistons on all four of the pneumatic motors 112, 114, 116 and 118. The other main line conduit 248 connects through branch line 256 to the second expansible chambers of upper ram motors 112 and 114, and, through a second branch conduit 258, to the second expansible chambers of the lower ram motors 116 and 118. Thus with the control valve 240 in its spring biased condition pneumatic fluid under pressure through line 244 is directed to the expansible chambers of all four pneumatic motors forcing the pistons back into the motor chambers and exhausting the second expansible chambers through the two branches 256 and and 258 into main line conduit 248 through control valve 242 exhaust. Thus all four motors will retract and pull their associated rams 150 and 152 to a retract limit position.

To operate the crimping rams through their work strokes, pressure on button 242 will shift the control valve which diverts the pneumatic fluid under pressure from line 244 into main line 248 and connects the main line conduit 250 to the exhaust conduit 246. This condition of the control valve permits the first chambers of all four motors to be connected through the main line conduit 250 to exhaust and at the same time pressurizes the main line conduit 248 and both of its branch conduits 256 and 258 to apply pneumatic fluid under pressure to the second expansible chambers of all four motors 112, 114, 116 and 118. If no force resists the movement of rams 150 and 152 all four motors should move at the same speed. However, due to intricacies and different reactive forces during the crimping operations, as will be later described, there may be more force resisting movement of one of the rams than there is resisting the movement of the other rams. To attend to such differ ences in operating forces a pressure regulating valve such as valve 260 can be inserted in one of the branch lines from main line conduit 248 to provide desired control of variation in pressure between the two branch lines 256 and 258 to the respective sets of upper motors and lower motors.

A still more accurate control between pressures which are applied to the upper set of motors 112 and 114 and to the lower set of motors 116 and 118 can be accomplished by adding a second pressure regulator valve 262 in the branch conduit 258 directed to the second expansible chambers of the two lower motors 116 and 118. In this manner accurate control of the pressures in each of the branch lines 256 and 258 can be adjusted regardless of variations in the pneumatic pressure source entering through line 244.

Variations in the pressure applied to the upper set of motors and to the lower set of motors may be required due to thicknesses of wire which are used to make the crimped spring clips or to the size of the clips which are being made or to similar causes. Similarly there may be desired variations in the length of strokes of each of the two rams and 152 dependent upon the thickness and extent of bends desired in the spring clips. The length of stroke can be changed very readily by using different sets of stop blocks 186 and 188. For example in one embodiment of clip being made the stop blocks are shaped to provide an upper ram stroke of .296 inch and a lower ram stroke travel of .281 inch in order that the lower ram complete its stroke an instant sooner than does the upper ram. This relationship is desirable particularly with very small clips as it enable the plastic workpiece body with its tool abutment protuberances to be fully seated at the end of the stroke just before the steel teeth press the open reflex clip end down tight as will be more fully described. These examples are given merely to show that the stroke of both rams is not necessarily the same although it very well could be depending upon the thickness and the precise shape of clip which is desired.

Turning now to FIGS 7, 8 and 9, FIG. 7 illustrates the toothed tool piece 212, FIG. 8 illustrates the mandrel or stud tool assembly 228 and FIG. 9 illustrates the jig 218 together with a connector workpiece 270. The jig 218 and workpiece 270 are used together and provide an effective third tool assembly.

The tool piece 212 which, as previously described, is secured to the recess 210 in upper ram 150 is made from air hardened tool steel having two countersunk screw holes 272, one formed adjacent each end of the tool piece. The rear face 274 of tool 212 is flat and in assembly is abutted squarely against the flat face of recess 210 in upper ram 150 and held securely by screws as described. The free face of tool 212 is provided with a series of tooth like vertically extended parallel abutments 276 arranged in a saw tooth manner, each tooth abutment 276 having a similar shape. In the tool piece shown in FIG. 7, there are 9 such tooth abutments although more or less could be utilized depending upon the size of the machine and the number of clips which appear on a connector and which are desired to be simultaneously shaped. The peaks of each of tooth abutments 2% are rounded and are all spaced an equal distance from the adjacent toothed abutment. The vertical width of tool piece 212 can vary and may even be constructed slightly greater than the thickness of its associated ram 150, however, in the illustrated embodiment the tool piece 212 is the same thickness of that of ram 150.

The tool assembly 228 shown in FIG. 8 is also made of air hardened tool steel, the cross sectional shape of which permits insertion of piece 228 into the elongate hole 226 previously described in the machine bed 102 to provide a smooth snug sliding fit across the Width of tool piece 228 and yet permit slight play lengthwise relative to the hole 226. The vertical depth of the piece 228 is greater than the thickness through the plane portion of bed 102; however, the distance from the top face 280 of tool piece 228 down to the shoulders of the forked end lug 282 and 284 is substantially equal to the thickness of machine bed 102. When the tool piece 228 is inserted from beneath the machine bed 102 into the hole 226 the end lugs 282 and 284 will limit the extent of insertion so that the top face 280 of the tool piece 228 is disposed level with the plane working surface 104 of the bed 102. The aforedescribed screws 230 which secure the tool piece 228 to the bed 102 cooperate with the forked lugs 228 and 284 and thereby clamp the tool piece 228 to bed 102.

The tool piece 228, before being hardened, is drilled at a plurality of locations equidistantly spaced apart extending vertically through the piece 228 and being disposed in a straight line centrally located along the elongate extent of the tool piece 228. The axes of all such drill openings lie in a common plane and each such opening receives a short length of drill rod 286 to serve as a mandrel. Each of the plurality of drill rods 286 extends to the bottom of tool piece 228 and is secured in position by a set screw 228. The set screws for alternate ones of the drill rods 286 are placed on opposite sides of the tool piece 228 for clearance purposes. The spacing relationships shown in FIG. 7 and in FIG. 8 are such that the distance between each of the toothed abutments 276 is twice as great as a distance between each of the drill rods 286 and'that relationship is more clearly apparent in FIG. 12. The reason for this relationship will become apparent as the description proceeds.

FIG. 9 illustrates jig 218 holding a preliminary formed connector workpiece 270. While the connectors made by the crimping machine hereindescribed are utilized for the same purpose as the connectors shown in US. Pat. Nos. 3,181,109 and 3,188,603, the connectors shown in those patents are made by hand, using several individual hand tools to form the shape of each of the clips. As is true of the connector members shown in those patents the connector member 270 of the present invention is initially made with an elongated, preferably rectangular base member 290 desirably formed of a rigid plastic material which serves as an insulator for electric current. The base member 290 can be made of other suitable insulation materials. Base 290 is preferably rather thin and several (three being shown) metal conductors 292, 294 and 296 have elongated center portions embedded in the plastic material. As shown it is preferable that the conductor materials are made from flat strips of a metallic material having a relatively high electrical conductivity. For example this material can be made with a copper core having a silver coating. Each of the plurality of conductors 292 through 296 has two terminal end portions, 292a and 292b for conductor strip 292, 294a and 294b for conductor strip 294 and 296a and 296k for conductor strip 296. These terminal end portions project out from one face of the plastic member 290 and in a preformed workpiece, such as 270 in-FIG. 9 and 270 in FIG. 2 equivalent components are refer: enced with primed numbers, they project at 90 to the flat face.

Formed integral with the plastic surface of the base member strip 290 is a stop lug 298, the purpose of which is not part of the present invention. However, the stop lug 298 is located approximately half way between two projecting terminal end portions and is an integral part of the plastic strip 290.

An important aspect of the present invention over the 10 clips shown in FIG. 4 of US. Pat. Nos. 3,181,109 and 3,188,603 is the provision of semi-cylindrical abutments 300 for connector 270 and 300 for connector 270', integral with the plastic strip 290 and located immediately adjacent the base ends of the conductor terminal end portions 292a, 292b, 294a, 294b, 296a and 29612. These small plastic abutments are shaped as half cylinders having substantially the same diameter as the diameter of drill rod or mandrel piece-s 286 in tool assembly 228 and provide several distinctive functions. First, during the machine crimping of the terminal end portions of the connector strips 292, 294- and 296, the semi-cylindrical abutments 300 serve as tool members which aid in the crimping and shaping of the terminal end portions into spring clips (see FIGS. 11 and 12). Second, they serve as curved backup members for each spring clip on a complete connector as shown in FIG. 4. This backup abutment is located adjacent the location where each clip projects out of the plastic strip material, a location of concentrated stress and strain due to flexing of the clips during installation and removal of the connector members. The curved abutment provides a surface which spreads stress and strain over a greater extent of the clip material and increases useful clip life.

As can be seen in FIG. 9, the plastic body 290 of the preformed connector 270 may be longer than necessary for the final connector. This might be desired primarily for ease in handling and shaping, the excess plastic material being easily trimmed off in a final operation along the dotted line 302.

A workpiece jig 218 (FIG. 9) has a major body portion 304 made of a fiat rectangular piece of tool steel approximately inch thick, i.e., the thickness is equal to the depth of the recess shoulder 216 in lower ram 152. One end of jig 218 has a pressure edge which is acted upon by shoulder 216 of the recess in ram 152. Because that pressure edge gets the greatest wear, a replaceable strip 306 is secured to that end of the main jig body 304 by countersunk screws 308. Thus when the maximum wear on jig 218 is reached, the pressure strip 306 can be replaced, avoiding the necessity of replacing a complete jig.

Along the lower front face of jig 218 a rabbeted groove is provided to receive the plastic body 290 of a preformed workpiece and the width of groove 310 is equal to the width of the plastic body 290. As seen in FIG. 9, the left hand end of rabbeted groove 310 is provided with a notched recess shaped to coact with the notched end of body 290 of workpiece 270. If that end of the workpiece 270 were squared the end of the recess 310 could be squared, i.e., the left hand of the recess as shown in FIG. 9 can be made in a shape to correspond with the shape of the end, of the workpiece.

Two spring clips 312 and 314 are secured as fingers by screws 316 and 318 to the front face of jig body 304. The two clips are sprung to create a friction against a workpiece 270 placed in the rabbeted groove 310. However, an operator can pivot the two fingers away from engagement over the rabbeted groove 310 enabling insertion and removal of the workpiece 270. Engagement of the two spring fingers with a workpiece 270 should be adjacent the ends of the workpiece in order to clear the tool portions 212 and 228 during shaping of the clips on the connector. If the preformed workpiece 270 has the terminal end portions of the conductors spaced further apart than shown in FIG. 9, the right hand spring finger 314 might have to be shifted to the adjacent screw hole 320. It is to be understood that different sized jigs are used for ditferent widths of connectors to be made. For example it is apparent that the preformed connector workpiece 270 shown in FIG. 9 has a width which is about of the width of the connector workpiece 270 shown in FIG. 2. Accordingly, the width of the rabbeted groove in a jig intended to carry the connector workpiece 270 would be wider and possibly deeper than the illustrated rabbeted groove 310 shown in FIG. 9.

1 1 FORMING OPERATION As shown in FIG. 10, both the upper ram 150 and the lower ram 152 are in their fully retracted positions which is the same position as that shown in FIG. 5. In such position, and with a workpiece 270 inserted in the jig in the manner shown in FIG. 9, the jig 218 with a preformed workpiece is placed against wall 214 and shoulder 216 of the recess in the lower ram 152 with the jig 218 resting against the gusset blocks 220 and 222. Insertion of the combination jig and workpiece in such manner will place the terminal end portions 292a, 294a, etc. extending perpendicularly from the face of jig 218 and parallel to the plane surface 104 of machine bed 102. So positioned, each of the terminal end portions 292a, etc., extends and lightly tangentially engages one of the drill rod mandrel studs 286 which extend up perpendicular from the plane of the machine bed surface 104.

Six of the conductor terminal end portions are shown in FIG. and are so spaced along the length of a plastic body 290 that they consecutively engage the front straight face of six of the toothed abutments 276 on the upper .ram workpiece 212. The intermediate connecting portion of the terminal end portions are of course embedded in the plastic body 290, but where they exit from that plastic body each of those terminal portions is backed on its right hand side by one of the semi-cylindrical plastic protuberances 300 integral with the plastic body 290'. Since plastic body 290 is securely received and held in the rabbeted recess 310 of jig 218 and jig 218 is securely disposed in the recess of the lower ram 152, the protuberances 300 in effect become workpiece abutments. Upon movement of the lower ram in the direction of the arrows (see FIGS. 10, 11 and 12") along the guide tracks 174 and 182, the plastic protuberances 300 will tend to shift the base ends of the terminal end portions 292a, etc. simultaneously toward the left of the machine and also up toward the line of drill rod studs 286. Also, the ends of each of the conductor terminal end portions 292a and etc., which project up and engage the straight sides of toothed abutments 276 will be forced toward the left hand side of the machine upon working movement of upper ram 150 in the direction of the arrows along guide tracks 168 and 172. That ram movement forces the upper ends of the terminal end portions toward the left and down toward the line of drill rod studs 286.

The spacing between each of the conductor terminal end portions 292a, etc., and their associated half cylindrical protuberances 300 is equal to or in multiples of the distance between each of the toothed abutments 276 on tool piece 212. The preformed connector workpiece 270 is so constructed that when it is disposed in its associated jig 218 and the jig is placed in proper position in the lower ram 152, each of the perpendicular conductor end portions 292a, etc., will be touching the front face of an associated toothed abutment on the same side as that terminal end portions associated backup protuberance 300. Each conductor end portion extends past and beyond an associated drill rod stud 286 a distance sufficient, when the end is bent over, to extend over two adjacent drill rod studs and has its left or other side touching the left hand adjacent drill rod stud 286.

As previously described, there are two drill rod studs located in a space equivalent to the spaces between the toothed abutments 276. Therefore if two of the conductor terminal end portions such as portions 292a and 294a extend into engagement with the front faces of two adjacent toothed abutments 276 there will be a non-engaged drill rod stud 286 located between the two drill rod studs 286 which are in tangential engagement with those two conductor terminal end portions 292a and 294a. This condition is clearly shown in FIG. 10. If the connector piece is so designed, more than one conductor terminal end portion can be located at the same lengthwise position although spaced apart across the width of the plastic body 290. Therefore, more than one terminal end portion can be formed into a spring clip in one operation by the same toothed abutment 276 and the same drill rod studs 286. Thus the location of the finally formed spring clips will depend upon the desired design configuration of the complete connector.

With jig 218 and its contained preformed connector workpiece 270 placed in the position shown in FIG. 10, the machine is ready to be operated through a work stroke and retract cycle. The operator manipulates control valve 240 (FIG. 13) and energizes the four ram motors to operate and shift the rams and 152 toward their abutment stops 200 and 204.

FIG. 11 illustrates an intermediate machine condition in which the two rams 150 and 152 have shifted through approximately 73 of their work stroke. In FIG. 11 the part of each conductor terminal end portion 292a, etc., which was in engagement tangentially with an associated drill rod stud 286 stays in essentially the same position with no effective shift relative to the drill rod stud. However, the part of the conductor terminal end portion closest to the plastic body strip 290 is shifted to the left and at the same time moved closer to the row of drill rod studs by the work stroke movement of the lower ram 152. Simultaneously, the end portion which extends beyond the drill rod pins and into engagement with the front surfaces of toothed abutments 276 is also being shifted to the left and down toward the row of drill rod studs 286 with its free end overlying the next adjacent drill rod stud 286 to the left. This movement is due to the work stroke of the upper ram 150 which shifts the tool piece 212 toward the left and closer to the drill rod studs.

As clearly shown in FIG. 11, these two simultaneous shifting movements of rams 150 and 152 form the initial C or U-bend or bight of each terminal end portion and FIG. 11 also shows the initial, smoothly curved bend of the terminal end portions adjacent the position where they exit from. the plastic strip 290, the initial bend being formed over the half cylindrical protuberances 300.

Note in both of FIGS. 10 and 11 that the lower ram 152 has a shorter stroke to its abutment stop 204 than does the upper ram 150 to its abutment stop shoulder 200 and therefore the lower ram completes its stroke a minute increment before the upper ram finishes its stroke. This relationship permits the initial bend of the clip to be completely formed by the plastic protuberance 300 without having interference from the matching abutment tooth. The tooth 276 being made of steel can finish its stroke, after the lower ram stroke is completed, and assure shaping the clip reflex end Without a deformation of the steel tooth whereas, if the plastic protuberance had to force the initial bend of the conductor up between studs against a fully seated steel tooth, the plastic protuberance 300 could be deformed with resultant improper initial bend shape for the clip.

Both of the rams 150 and 152 continue their simultaneous shift as they move from the position shown in FIG. 11 to the final stop or termination position of the work stroke shown in FIG. 12. During this shifting movement, the rounded ends of the toothed abutments 276 slide along the horizontal bent ends of each terminal end portion as they shift slightly toward the left and at the same time force the center of that small end down between the two engaged drill rod studs 286 thereby forming a reflex curve in the end of each conductor terminal end portion as the tip of each toothed abutment moves into a position somewhat between the adjacent drill rod studs 286 as seen in FIG. 12. During and before completion of the just described movement of upper ram 150 the lower ram 152 completes its movement shifting further toward the left and up closer to the drill rod pins. Such action results in the formation of a reflex curve in the conductor terminal end strip adjacent the plastic strip 290. That reflex curve is formed between the drill rod stud 286 which is located in the bight of the spring clip and the half cylindrical protuberances 300 which tend to force the base portion of the terminal end portions up between two adjacent drill rod pins where it is almost immediately engaged by the reflexed terminal end which is being pushed down be tween the same two studs by the curved end of the associated toothed abutment 276. Protuberances 300 being made of the same plastic material as is the body 290, can be somewhat deformed during this final stage operation thus preventing rupture or destruction of the tool parts, however the initial bend in the clip has been fully formed at this stage and pressure by the seating steel tooth does not thereafter deform the set of the initial bend.

In the condition as shown in FIG. 12, both rams 150 and 152 are in abutment with the stop blocks 186 and 188 respectively and the shaped terminal end clips are tightly encircling the drill rod pins 286. If these clips remained in that shape there would be diificulty in removing the connector piece from the drill rod pins. However, the metallic conductors which provide the terminal end portions have an inherent springiness and while the shapes formed in FIG. 12 remain somewhat as shown, the clips tend to spring back a slight amount when the two rams are retracted to retract position. That effect serves to loosen all of the shaped spring clips on their associated drill rod pins. Nevertheless, because the clips now encircle the pins, the connector piece 270 cannot be pulled back away from the drill rod pins as the lower ram 152 moves back to its retract position and because the connector 270x (FIG. 12) is held in the rabbeted recess 310 of jig 218 the jig itself cannot move back with retraction of ram 152. Therefore, the combination jig 218 and finished connector workpiece remains on the drill rod pins 286. However, because they are loose on the pins, the operator can remove the jig and the connector piece 270x.

As discussed previously, it may be desirable to provide a terminal block connector having a unidirectionally conductive conductor. A terminal block connector of this type is shown in FIGS. 14, and 16, in which equivalent components as previously described with respect to FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 9 are referenced with double primed numbers.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, the terminal block connector 270", as previously described, includes a dielectric base member 290" having embedded therein a plurality of conductors 292", 294" and 296" which have terminal end portions 292a", 2921)", 294a", 294b", 296a" and MM)", formed into C-shaped spring clips.

The conductor 296" is made unidirectionally conductive by the inclusion of a unidirectionally conductive means or diode 330 electrically and mechanically inter connected therein. The diode 330 may be any suitable commercially available diode having current and voltage characteristics sufficient for the particular application of the connector. Typically, such diodes are cylindrical in shape and include a slightly larger diameter flange 332 at one end. The diode includes a wire terminal 334 ex tending from the center of the ridged end and a pigtail terminal 336 extending from the center of the opposite end.

The diode is mechanically and electrically interconnected into the conductor 296" by first removing a suitable sized part of the center portion of conductor 296 to accommodate the diode 330 and the interconnection while maintaining the proper overall size of the conductor 296. The wire terminal 334 and the pigtail terminal 336 are suitably mechanically and electrically connected, each to one of the two parts of the conductor 296". The mechanical and electrical interconnection must be sufficiently strong to withstand the repeated use of the connector, and may be provided as by spot welds.

As illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15, the wire terminal 334 may be connected directly to the part of the conductor 296" having terminal end portion 296-b". The pigtail terminal 336 is shown connected to the part of the conductor 296" having terminal end portion 296a. Since the pigtail terminal is rigid and since flexibility must be maintained during the embedding of the conductor 296" in the base member 290", the forming of the spring clips and the use of the connector, the pigtail terminal 336 is connected to the conductor 296 through an intermediate wire conductor 338. Although this type of interconnection requires an additional weld joint, the increased flexibility reduces the stress applied to the weld joints. The orientation of the diode may be reversed if desired by merely reversing the connection of the diode terminals 334 and 336 to the parts of the conductor 296".

The conductor 296 with the diode 330 interconnected therein is embedded in the base member 290". The depth of the base member may be increased overall to completely enclosed the diode 330 or the depth of the base member 290" may be increased only at the location of the diode 330 itself.

In FIGS. 14-16, the diode 330 is shown with the face from which the terminal end portion projects as having a small transverse ridge 340 formed to accommodate the flange 332 of the diode 330.

The bottom face of the base member 290", as shown in FIG. 16, has a symmetrically shaped extended portion 342 including longitudinally spaced transverse ridges 344 and 346, and a longitudinally extending arcuate portion 348 extending therebetween. The flanges 332 may be ac commodated in either of the transverse ridges 344 and 346, depending on the orientation of the diode, and the cylindrical portion of the diode 330 may be accommodated in the arcuate portion 348.

The bottom extension 342 must be accommodated in a complementary recess formed in the workpiece jig 218. It is made symmetrical so as to maintain the same shape regardless of the orientation of the diode 330, thereby allowing the same workpiece jig 218 to be used for all connectors having the diode 330.

Other suitably shaped extensions may be used on the top and bottom faces of the connector to accommodate diodes of other configurations.

Thus, an improved terminal block bridging connector has been described which is more easily manufactured and has a longer, useful life. In addition, a second embodiment of the improved terminal block bridging con-.

nector which includes a unidirectionally conductive path has also been described.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A terminal block bridging connector member comprising: a semi-rigid dielectric elongate base means; C- shaped conductor end clips with reflex bends in each leg portion accurately and uniformly shaped and spaced in plural arrangements projecting from said semi-rigid dielectric base means, all clips facing in the same direction and each clip having associated therewith a small protuberance structurally integral with an extending from said base means and backing the conductor clip leg portion reflex bend which occurs at the location where the clip material projects from the base means, said protuberance serving as a surface about which said reflex bend is formed at the location where the clip material projects from the base means to provide the accurate positioning and shaping of each of said clips during the manufacture thereof; and means for relieving stress concentration during use.

2. A connector as defined in claim 1 wherein said semirigid dielectric base means further includes a unidirectionally conductive means embedded therein and elec- 15 trically and mechanically connected between two of said end clips.

3. A connector as defined in claim 2 wherein said unidirectional conducting means is a diode.

4. A connector comprising: a semi-rigid elongate dielectric base means with sides; a conductor, part of which is secured and embedded inside said base means and a terminal end portion of which projects from a side of said base means and is crimped into a C-shaped conductor end clip closely adjacent to and substantially parallel to said side of said base means said terminal end portion, as it projects from the side of said base means, passing through a first abrupt bend toward said base means, then, by means of a reversed rounded bend, forming the bight of the clip and thence againreversing its configuration through a still further reflex bend; and a small backup protuberance on said base means engaging said clip at said first abrupt bend to aid in minimizing flexing of the clip at said first abrupt bend during installation and removal of the connector during use, said small backup protuberance being of sufficient size to serve as a bending surface about which said first abrupt bend is formed to provide accurate positioning and shaping of said clip during manufacture, to maintain the accurate positioning and shaping of said clip thereafter, and to provide distribution of stresses at said first abrupt bend portion of said clip.

5. A connector as defined in claim 4, wherein said protuberance is a structurally integral part of said base means and has a semi-cylindrical curved surface engaging said initial bend of said clip.

6. A connector as defined in claim 4, wherein said base means is flat; a plurality of conductors are embedded therein, each of which has at least two terminal end portions projecting. from a side of said base means and shaped as a C-shaped clip; and a plurality of said protuberances are provided, one being disposed behind and engaging the first abrupt bend of each clip.

7. A connector as defined in claim 6 wherein one of said plurality of conductors includes unidirectionally conductive means embedded in said base means.

8. A connector as defined in claim 7 wherein said unidirectionally conductive means is a diode.

9. A connector as defined in claim 8 wherein said diode is electrically and mechanically connected to the ends of said terminal end portions of said one of said plurality of conductors embedded in said base means.

10. A connector for a distribution system having a terminal block with a plurality of rows of a plurality of terminal pins mounted in spaced relation with the pins in each row being vertically aligned and projecting from each side of said block, said connector comprising: an elongate generally rectangular member formed of a dielectric plastic material; at least one metallic conductor having an elongated center portion embedded in said member and integrally formed end portions projecting from one face of said member, said end portions being shaped to form spring clips all facing the same end portion of said elongate member; said connector being constructed and adapted to be mounted on a row of said pins on said terminal block with at least two of said pins in said row being positioned between andengaged by said clips in said member with said conductor electrically connecting said two pins; and plastic lug protuberances integral with said elongate member located behind and engaging the initial bend portion of each said clip which occurs at the location where said end'portions emerge from said one face of said member, each of said protuberances extending from said one face of said member a sufiicient distance as to serve as a bending surface about which said initial bend of each said clip is formed to assure proper positioning of said clips relative to each other and distribution of flexing stress over a substantial portion of the mounting legs of said clips.

11. The connector as defined in claim 6, wherein said clips are serpentine shaped to provide a C-shaped recess with reflex bent leg portions to receive and grip said pins and be in electrical contact with both sides thereof when mounted thereon.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,628,292 2/1953 Mastney -1 339258 X 3,142,783 7/1964 Warren 317-101 3,188,603 6/1965 Snider 339-198 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,089,838 6/ 1960 Germany.

RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner U.S. c1. X.R. 339-218, 25s 

